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The ion thrust engine from a Venator-class Star Destroyer
Ion engines (also called ion drives, ion thrusters, or ion drive thrusters) were a common type of sublight drive. The drives generated charged particles that were then hurled from the rear of the ship, producing thrust in the process.[2] Unlike many other starship engines, ion engines had no moving parts and no high-temperature components.[3] Because of this, they required much less maintenance, a time and cost-saving factor that led them to be used expansively in the Imperial Navy.[3] Notably, many starfighter models in the TIE fighter series were equipped with twin ion engines.[4] The byproduct of such engines, the ion exhaust, made the passage of a ship detectable to sensors.[5]
At the time of the conflict between the First Order and the Resistance, Sienar-Jaemus Army Systems manufactured a number of ion drive models, including the SJAS-210 and the SJFS-200a.[2]
